


Kaminoan Revelation

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: Changing Fate [8]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anakin has issues, Anakin is really an idealist at heart, Clones, Gen, acknowledging the Jedi are wrong sometimes, he really hates slavery, so does his master
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 15:08:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6663640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The search for the next piece of the puzzle takes the trio to Kamino, and that opens a whole new can of worms -- err, clones.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kaminoan Revelation

"We've input every single search item we have, and we have come up with nothing," Obi-Wan recapped, ignoring Anakin's frustrated noise in his direction. "I'm merely proposing that I make the journey to Coruscant, and review the archives there," he continued. He then shrugged a little. "And possibly touch base with Dex," he admitted to Qui-Gon. "He might have a memory that will point me in the right direction to search, considering all he's done and everywhere he's been."

"And what if the Chancellor is waiting for us, any of us, to get back there?!" Anakin asked fiercely. "Word's probably reached him by now!"

Qui-Gon watched the debate between his partner and his padawan with a slight raise of one eyebrow, waiting to see what reply Obi-Wan would make, but oh, he was relieved to see Anakin standing his ground and arguing with Obi-Wan. It spoke volumes to how much his tentative young padawan had matured, grown into confidence in himself. 

"I'll be discreet," Obi-Wan offered his little brother, understanding the unease. "There are more ways to land on Coruscant than the official ones."

"I don't like it," Anakin said. "I have a bad feeling about it, all the way around."

"I don't particularly care for it either, Anakin," Qui-Gon said softly, "which doesn't make it the wrong course of action. Obi-Wan knows how to get back onto Coruscant without being noticed, I promise you." 

"Especially to get to Dex," Obi-Wan said in a low undertone. Certainly his friend had turned over a legitimate leaf for business, but that didn't mean he didn't still have questionable contacts and side dealing in his restaurant.

Anakin huffed out air and flopped back in his chair, having raised his objections and been shot down.

That actually made Qui-Gon smile, more than anything. Anakin being willing to truly show his upset and displeasure to them was still somewhat rare, and so long as he kept it to when they were alone, he would not dissuade him from it. "It will be all right, Ani. So. What are you going to tell Dex about our mysterious missing planet, my own?" 

"I'm going to tackle the less ethical search parameter," Obi-Wan told him, even as he came past Anakin to squeeze his little brother's shoulder in gentle reassurance. "Cloning. If someone is trafficking in created beings, I bet he's heard a whiff of it." Not, he thought, that Dex would ever engage in such nonsense. 

"What is a Dex?" Anakin asked.

"Trouble, but the fun kind," Obi-Wan said honestly, smiling.

Qui-Gon snorted softly, amused. "Now that's the truth. Dex is a Besalisk, from Ojom, and he and Obi-Wan have known each other for a very long time. I have no idea what brought him to Coruscant, but at the moment, I'm glad he's there." 

Obi-Wan continued on his way, stopping to brush a kiss against Qui-Gon's cheek before going to get ready to leave. With the decision made and the clock ticking, possibly against them, he wasn't going to waste time when he could get to Coruscant and back with the information fairly quickly.

Anakin watched him go, not letting the worry fade, but using it to knit that brotherly connection into something a little stronger. He had told Padmé the truth about who could be used to manipulate him, but it didn't make it any easier to name the shadows when so much was uncertain for him.

Qui-Gon turned back towards Anakin, looking at him. "I know you're concerned, Anakin. I am, as well. 

"But he's right. If we all go, we are noticeable. But one young man can hide himself much better. Have faith in him, Ani." 

"I do, Master," Anakin replied, sighing deeply. "It is that which I do not know, about a man who cloaked himself in the shadow of the Temple from all eyes for the last six, almost seven years from all discovery that I am concerned over. A man that has managed to turn us nearly to war, all of us, in so short a time."

"Yes," Qui-Gon agreed, moving over to sit closer to his apprentice, reaching to take his hand. "His skill at that, and his ability to deceive, are both very concerning. I know, Ani. 

"And it sits just as poorly with you as it does with me to have to wait, to be away from the danger that threatens those we love, where we can not aid them." 

Anakin took the offered hand, breathing slowly, closing his eyes. "We _will_ end this threat," he vowed fervently, promising himself down deep, well below where Qui-Gon might feel it, that if Obi-Wan came to harm, he would convince Master Windu to let him bait the trap, just to get close enough to finish Sidious off himself, somehow.

+++++

Obi-Wan had not taken their usual ship from Ilum, borrowing one of the speedier models instead. True to his word, he evaded the security forces, taking advantage of one of the many blind spots during a busy incoming period by attaching to a supply delivery convoy. Once in the atmosphere, it was not that difficult to actually get landed at the Temple. 

As Jedi were often coming and going, he blended in well enough, keeping his hood up as he left the Temple to go and find Dex. He kept moving, swiftly, not even checking in with the Masters at the Temple, as he wished to not give any food to Anakin's fears for him by letting his presence be known until he was long gone.

He hoped.

Maybe he was at Dex's longer than he should have been. Maybe he just had dipped into a section of the city that was looking for any excuse to make trouble for a lone Jedi. Either way, he felt the presence of harmful intent stir the Force well before he made it to the safer strata of the city, and had to choose. Did he evade, or did he confront?

On the one hand, it might be opportunists looking to settle some old grudge, real or imagined, against the Jedi. On the other, it might possibly be a connection to Darth Sidious. That last made him decide to fight, hopefully to capture.

Obi-Wan picked up his steps, made a couple of furtive glances around, purposefully looking like he knew he was being followed, but using sloppy, amateur mannerisms about it. He kept the Force center-most in his mind as he did it, gaging if his followers were falling for the trick. The pair of darker intentions seemed to grow, swelling in confidence. That was just what Obi-Wan wanted as he turned into a seedier, darker corridor on his way back to the borrowed speeder he'd used to come.

A small burst of the Force gave him distance to get turned, with his lightsaber hilt in hand but not lit yet. The pair, following, were blinded briefly as its blue hue filled the darker space just as they came into sight. The advantage did not last long, as they moved to blast him with decidedly illegal military grade weapons.

Bounty hunters, Obi-Wan knew, taking in the mismatched pieces of armor and gear. The way they moved together spoke of a long partnership, making Obi-Wan evaluate his moves. Based on his own experience and knowledge of bounty hunters, two that had that ease would be apt to be much like himself and Qui-Gon, overprotective should one fall.

He parried the blasts easily, working to close the distance and take those weapons away. They stayed spread out, making it difficult to engage one and not be tagged by the other, leading to several minutes of maneuvering, until Obi-Wan managed to jerk one weapon away with the Force as he sliced the barrel of the other with his lightsaber.

"Surrender to my authority, and you will be treated well!" Obi-Wan offered. Silently, the pair produced vibroblades the length of his forearm. The Jedi Knight sighed and proceeded with the dance, avoiding their swipes and stabs. He would be perfectly able to disarm them, literally, or even kill them in self-defense, but he did truly wish to question them.

He worked the fight until one's footing betrayed them, and managed a rapid series of blows the pushed the other into the downed partner's space. With both tangled up on each other, downward blows of his hilt were more than able to remove the weapons from play.

"Now -- "

He got no further as his downed opponents began to convulse, froth building at their mouths. Obi-Wan ducked back, looking for another attack, then tried to determine what had done this to his quarry. Both were decidedly dead in moments, leaving Obi-Wan frustrated and reaching for his comm link.

"Master Windu," he began, once his transmission was locked onto the Temple. "I need retrieval for myself and two bodies, quietly." He was also going to need some bacta for one bad blaster burn, and new clothes, or else Anakin would see the evidence of the fight and get worried again.

+++++

Anakin's head jerked around toward the door. Qui-Gon was already well aware that Obi-Wan had landed, but their Padawan had been distracted by meditation and shielding exercises. A moment later, the door slid open, revealing their returning Knight.

"Good evening; I do hope there is a meal waiting," he teased, eyes bright and warm, as he made a decided effort at maintaining an open, light Force presence.

Anakin's eyes narrowed; he was old enough now to know when Obi-Wan was purposefully trying not to upset him.

"Of course there is," Qui-Gon answered, catching on to that Obi-Wan was being deliberately light, but not challenging him on it quite yet, "I knew you were on your way back." He flicked his fingers in the direction of the small kitchen unit, where the meal was, in fact, waiting. 

"And welcome home." 

"It is good to be home." Obi-Wan savored the feeling of that. Home was wherever Qui-Gon, and Anakin, were, and that was something the Code probably frowned on, but he didn't care anymore. He dropped his small pack beside the door, and went to take his outer robe off.

"That's not the robe you left with. In fact, I think it's new," Anakin challenged, not willing to be mollified easily.

"Don't say you simply replaced it, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon added, "not when you're being determinedly cheerful. Come and eat, and then we'll let Anakin tell us he was right a few times." 

Obi-Wan sighed, then joined them for a meal, his fingers brushing Qui-Gon's a few times in getting settled. Anakin brooded at him through the meal, but Obi-Wan could ignore that; Qui-Gon had been a master of brooding years before Anakin was even born.

"I'll go ahead and say it," Obi-Wan began, once he had his fill. "Anakin was right; trouble was waiting."

Anakin nodded once, sharply, and crossed his arms across his chest before he shot Qui-Gon a look. "It takes all the fun out of saying 'I told you so' when both of you've said it first. So what happened?!" 

Obi-Wan sat back, cradling his cup of tea close to keep it warm, or to warm his fingers from the brief walk to the apartment from the landing pad. "I made it to Coruscant and then to Dex with no trouble at all. I might have taken too long at Dex's -- Qui-Gon, you know how talkative he is -- but I acquired a pair of followers on leaving.

"It was possible they were just hunting Jedi; I was in a bad section of the city. But I erred on the side of them being sent, and was entirely too accurate." Obi-Wan closed his eyes, remembering the painful jerks of both bodies as they died.

Qui-Gon nodded wry agreement about Dex and being talkative, but then there was that last, and how troubled his partner looked, and he slid his chair around the table to wrap an arm behind Obi-Wan's shoulders to hold on. "All too accurate, my own?" 

"Bounty hunters, military grade blasters and vibroblades," Obi-Wan said softly, leaning back. "Talented at making me work to keep the shots off long enough to disable their weapons. Adept at fighting melee style, making me work to not kill them or permanently injure them. I wanted answers.

"And I had the fight at last… only to have them die, because a poison implant was triggered. I did not see the watcher that had to have been there, to trigger it, but that is what our healers found, once Masters Windu and Koth retrieved us from where they had attacked me."

Anakin let his upset over the incident fade; Obi-Wan was shaken by such methods in ways that were worse than him having been attacked in the first place.

Qui-Gon shook his head slightly, shifting his weight to support his beloved a little more, holding him in against his side. That was obscene, to his way of thinking, and he knew it must be worse for Obi-Wan. His partner would have coaxed answers from the hunters, had they lived, to have that chance taken, for beings that were in his custody to be murdered in ways he could not stop or help... "It could have been a droid, observing," he pointed out softly, "programmed to set the implants off if they were captured. 

"There are so many flighted droids in Coruscant airspace, no-one could notice one more, my own." 

Obi-Wan sighed softly. "That would explain why I couldn't feel it, in the Force, a third person," he admitted. He turned his head to press his forehead into his partner's hair, letting his regret pass from him into the Force, as he needed to accurately report. When he straightened, it was to reach out, offering a hand to Anakin.

Anakin took it, knowing that this was not about comforting him but about letting Obi-Wan ground in the comfort of their family bond. "Did your friend have useful information?"

That was a good focus, and Obi-Wan smiled for the push back to the reason he'd gone. "Yes, actually. I asked about the creation of beings en masse, and Dex told me of a species renowned for such in certain circles."

Qui-Gon flashed a quick, approving smile at Anakin, proud of their youngest for knowing exactly how to coax Obi-Wan away from his regret and grief. "Oh?" He asked, soft, to keep them going. "And do they match the beings Anakin saw in his vision?" 

Obi-Wan's mouth twisted wryly. "I honestly don't know, Qui-Gon," he said with irony in every word. "But according to Master Nu, they mustn't even exist, as they were not to be found in the Archives."

"...what?" Qui-Gon blinked once, twice, his head tipping at his partner. "What in the name of the galaxy is wrong with Jocasta, to say such a thing?" 

"Arrogance," Anakin said in the next breath, easy and honest as he ever was.

Obi-Wan gave him a momentary stare, then thumped his head down on Qui-Gon's shoulder, flicking his fingers toward their youngest in agreement. It was too true and that was part of why the Order wasn't what it should be. Even Obi-Wan could see that.

Qui-Gon snorted, softly, his fingers curving around his beloved's nape as Obi-Wan made a quietly unhappy noise at Anakin's blunt honesty. "I think you've nailed it there, Ani," he agreed. "I am certain there is no way you accepted _that_ as an answer, my own, so...?" 

Obi-Wan echoed the snort after a moment; trust Anakin to do his best to punch holes in the sanctity of the Jedi Order, completely by accident.

"I took a projection of the region of space to the oldest person I could think of, and had the misfortune of finding Master Yoda with the younglings." He made a humorous strangling noise. "Anakin, have you ever had the honor of seeing Master Yoda in the midst of teaching the small ones?"

"No…." Anakin said with a long pause, curious at the phrasing. Though he had become involved in reworking the lightsabers used to lessen the chances of accidental injuries, he normally did the work alone, long after the younglings and unattached initiates were asleep.

Qui-Gon snorted, shaking his head slightly. He could guess _exactly_ what Obi-Wan was alluding to. "I take it that his sense of humor had undergone its usual -- " 

"Transformation? Yes." Obi-Wan sighed. "Master Yoda had me explain why I'd come, and I had to explain there was a system missing from the Archives." He cleared his throat, and modulated his voice in the kind of mimicry that every Temple-raised Padawan learned by the age of four. "Lost a planet, Knight Kenobi has. How embarrassing." Obi-Wan then sighed. "The younglings were very helpful in working out the gravitational shadow to help me find the coordinates, but they all got several good giggles in." 

He wasn't really upset, just making a show of it. Such gentle proddings at ego were Master Yoda's way of keeping younger Jedi from getting too full of themselves and it beat the sharper admonitions delivered with the thump of a gimer stick on a shin.

Qui-Gon shook his head, murmuring, "Mm. 'Lost a planet, Master Nu has', I think he should have said. Dare I hope he may have, later?" 

Anakin had never heard either of them mimic Master Yoda in quite that way, and his eyes had widened slightly at suddenly hearing them both do so. His Master's comment, however, had him outright laughing, shaking his head. 

"If he did, I didn't get to hear it. As soon as we worked out the coordinates, I checked in at the healers, learned what happened to the bounty hunters, and came home to you," Obi-Wan answered. "I wasn't taking a chance, and I knew I was going to come here a roundabout route, in case I was followed again. I do not believe I was, but I did warn Admin to be suspicious of any ships that cannot verify they have a Jedi aboard," he added.

"Smart," Anakin said, still smiling for the impressions of Master Yoda. He'd heard the backwards speech often in the Temple, but never with the right tones and pitch. It seemed like a youngling habit, or the young padawans. 

"I do manage it every so often," Obi-Wan said, mildly amused at his little brother's comment, "but thank you, Anakin. We did find the coordinates, as I mentioned, so you get the fun of plotting our course there." 

Qui-Gon nodded, then groaned softly. "If it's been removed from the Archives, and we're the first Jedi there..." 

Obi-Wan joined him in that groan, shaking his head. "I should have brought an astromech back with me after all," he said. 

"We can borrow one before we go," Anakin said to that. "But why?" He wished they'd thought of needing an astromech while still on Naboo. He knew Artoo was still very much his impressive self; Threepio spoke of the feistier droid often.

"We have to get at least basic data, to replace that which was lost," Obi-Wan said, then he got a wicked look on his face. "And we will most certainly go with our Master, Anakin, when he gifts the new data to the Archives."

"You don't want the pleasure, my own?" Qui-Gon asked, even as he started grinning at that wicked smile of Obi-Wan's, and the tone. 

"I do think it would be _most_ respectful for the gift to come from one of her peers," Obi-Wan said innocently. Never mind that it would be coming from the man acknowledged by all as the closest friend Master Tahl, formerly over the Archives, had possessed.

"There's layers to this plot I don't even know," Anakin said, but he was smiling, glad to see Obi-Wan looking more upbeat.

Qui-Gon chuckled softly, his mouth quirking. "Master Nu's predecessor, Master Tahl, was one of my closest friends. And Tahl was inquisitive, determined, and always questioning." 

"Otherwise known as 'cut from the same cloth as our Master', Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "Though a bit more blunt in her stating of opinions."

Anakin's eyes went very wide at the idea of anyone being more blunt than Qui-Gon, as he'd been present for a handful of Master versus Knight versus Council arguments.

"Only when she had to be," Qui-Gon replied, his voice softening at the mention of her, at thinking of her, then looked at Ani to see if he had followed the links in Obi-Wan's little plot. 

"She was wonderful," Obi-Wan said in a soft voice. "A good Master to my dear friend as well." He slipped his hand to where he could rest it on Qui-Gon's leg.

The Padawan considered, looking from one to the other, at their body language. 'Closest' sounded an awful lot like a euphemism, but the Jedi only ever saw what they expected in their own, it seemed like. Or they actively ignored things, such as the fact Obi-Wan Kenobi was almost never found in his quarters if Qui-Gon Jinn was also in residence.

"It will both reprove Master Nu for being snide to Obi-Wan, by his former Master bringing the data, and also remind her that maybe she should be a bit more like her predecessor?" Anakin offered. "A double warning of her arrogance, but delivered in a very polite, acceptable manner."

"Exactly, Ani," Qui-Gon agreed, smiling at him for following it so well. "...exactly that. Which means, once we have investigated your vision, we must do quite a survey of the planet, so that the data we return with is very strong." 

"The look on her face will be worth it, I'm certain," Anakin said, before shaking his head. "Why do Jedi specialize so fully in a niche area? The more you learn in one field, the more likely you are to succumb to that feeling of superiority." He didn't feel that pull at all; he liked being the best he could be in all needed aspects of being a Jedi.

"Some beings are not capable of multitasking as effectively as we do," Obi-Wan observed. "But you do have a point. Master Che is nearly as hard a person to deal with in her forte."

Qui-Gon hummed for a moment, studying Anakin's face and considering the question. "There are situations in which an adept is needed, Ani. I would not wish to trust an experimental surgical procedure to a young nurse, or... the construction of a new thousand-story housing complex to a junior foreman. But at the same time, you're right; high expertise does seem to bring along that very arrogance that we as Jedi should strenuously attempt to avoid." 

That was food for thought, and Anakin started pondering it. That meant, with him quiet, Obi-Wan rose to clear the dishes away and start tidying. He was considering the same ideas, and once again trying to determine just how to reconcile his faith in the Jedi with these cracks Anakin kept exposing.

++++ 

Long-range surveillance and mapping of the sector gave the trio plenty of time to decide how they wanted to tackle the investigation. Obi-Wan would remain hidden, while Anakin walked with Qui-Gon Jinn to meet the administrators they had spoken to. Depending on Qui-Gon's impressions, Obi-Wan would do a stealthy recon of the facility, evading detection.

They still were very uncertain what they would face out of the Kaminoans, but they needed to unravel this mystery quickly.

"I'll be listening to both of you, through the Force," Obi-Wan promised, before secreting himself away in a cargo space, one designed to mask life signs. There were some tricks that smugglers and other talented scoundrels passed on that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had taken to heart over the years. These tricks had been passed on to the mechanics that serviced the Jedi ships, and installed.

Qui-Gon nodded, making certain that Obi-Wan was safely settled into the hidden space before he returned to the controls, where Anakin was taking them closer to the planet. 

"Any hails yet?" 

"No, not -- oh, there it is," Anakin replied, even as he reached to transmit the ship's identification of who they were. Well, the two of them, anyway. They had decided that they had a decent chance of making it back to hyperspace ahead of any attack if it came, and that being caught in a lie as soon as they landed was of no use whatsoever. So the ship relayed that they were Jedi, and Anakin held his breath. 

Only moments later, however, the ship's computer had a transmission from the planet, a standard welcome, and approach coordinates for a place called Tipoca City. "Standard approach coordinates, Master. 'Tipoca City'... doesn't tell us anything, but we'll see?" 

"So we shall." Qui-Gon looked at the approaching planet, and shook his head slightly. From where he stood, it appeared that the entire hemisphere they were approaching was covered in one massive storm. Or possibly several interlinked storms? "That looks like unpleasant weather, Ani." 

"At least I'm used to rain now, Master," Anakin said, with a small reminder of the first storm he'd stood out in, amazed by water falling from the sky. He concentrated on flying casually, like they were meant to be right where they were. He was not thinking about the futures that had crowded his mind in meditation and sleep alike.

Qui-Gon brushed a hand over his hair for a moment, gentle, and then settled into the co-pilot's seat as Anakin started them down through the atmosphere. Re-entry was smooth, easy and the upper levels of the atmosphere were clear. But following the coordinates soon took them into the storms. He had no concern about them, not with Anakin at the yoke... but he did feel a flicker of concern as Anakin broke down into the rain below the cloud-layer, and all he could see below them was white-capped ocean. Ocean in all directions, as far as his visibility stretched. A roiled, white-capped ocean, at that. 

"...is this whole world one unending ocean? Like Mon Cala?" 

"Terrifying. This is not a calming thing," Anakin said, even as he skimmed the whitecaps for the sheer challenge of it. The lakes of Naboo were his idea of enough water on a world. This? Was the opposite of Tatooine, and just as wrong to his sense of balance. He did bring them back up as he sensed, and the sensors beeped, the facility ahead, rising up out of the water. 

There was a curious edge in the Force, as a multitude of life screamed in his head all in one voice.

"No," Qui-Gon agreed, "it is no. but it is also not something to fear, not of itself — what is _that_?" 

His fingertips found his temples, rubbing as though that would do any good, as something uncanny washed against his senses. He pushed the sensation away, looking at the swiftly-rising... edifice... before them. "Circle once, Ani, let's look at this place." 

As Anakin did, flying in a slow loop, Qui-Gon was struck by the incredible beauty of the city. It must rest on some kind of massive stilts or floating platforms, but what he could see were the graceful domes and curving walls, the high towers topped with gleaming, smooth arrays of what must be lightning rods. Graceful curves of high walls, and gleaming lights that highlighted the architecture of the city, alien and elegant, as or more impressive than the Jedi Temple on Coruscant….

"It is beautiful, Master," Anakin said, picking up on some of that appreciation. "And yet I am reminded of how beautiful some of the deadliest things in the galaxy are." He did not like that odd pulse in the Force at all. This trip was going to be a monumental exercise in self-control for him.

Anakin deftly brought their ship back around and lined up for the designated landing spot. His mind itched with the feeling of impending doom.

Qui-Gon laid a steadying hand on his shoulder until they had touched down and the ship was at rest, then stood, looking at the well-lit landing pad (a smooth circle, elegant). In front of them, below an arched portal, stood an opening, a brightly-lit entrance. "Well, Padawan," he said, his voice wry, "time to get a bit wet. Think you can beat me to the doors?" 

"I think I'd rather practice Force Control and push the rain away," Anakin admitted, because getting inside any faster didn't sound all that good to him. "But I can beat you," he added, flashing a smile to show he was in control and this was going to go just fine. He was strong, he had the support of his Master and big brother… this was just fine.

Qui-Gon laughed, shaking his head, and ruffled his hair. "You're not that quick, Ani. But you have a point. Let's not meet whoever is on the other side of that door looking like drowned womp rats." 

He rose from the seat and headed to the ramp, checking with a light brush of the Force to be sure that Anakin was with him. His Padawan was on his heels, and already practicing the Force manipulation of physical shielding. This was much harder than just throwing things around, giving him something that was not the life pulse ahead to focus on.

"Wait until I get my full height!" Anakin shot back as they moved.

Qui-Gon laughed -- loud enough to be heard above the storm -- as he gathered the Force around himself to repel the water already trying to sweep in on the ramp. He set it to close as soon as they were a meter away, and kept the shield over himself as they walked to the doorway. It opened as they approached, the intricate, elegant design splitting in the center, and closed immediately behind them. 

The walls were a faintly silver-white, gleaming, smooth, and while the inner wall ran up straight, the outer wall was all curve, alternating between panels of the same silver-white material and rounded windows that looked out at the city and the storm. There was a figure coming towards them, and Qui-Gon stood a little straighter as he realized that he was having to look up -- significantly up -- at the Kaminoan's face. Something like a Muun, or a Faust, but... no, not like either of those, not really. 

All of the visible skin was almost the same silver-white as the walls, and there was nearly a meter of straight, graceful neck from the thin shoulders up to the small head. Large, dark eyes, hairless, a barely-there nose, and a small mouth that looked as though it were frowning... but then, so did several other species. 

A long, thin torso was matched by elongated arms and legs, but there was an incredible grace in this being. Nothing ungainly or awkward in... her, he thought, and was not entirely certain why. 

"Hello. My name is Taun We, Master Jedi," the being said in soft, soothing tones set in a register that also said 'female' to their experience. "Have you come to inspect the project on behalf of Master Sifo-Dyas?" 

Anakin could only feel peace and satisfaction in a work ethic on the surface presence of the being. He didn't know how to handle that. If this army he had seen was part of that horrific future, why wasn't there a taint of Darkness here?

Qui-Gon was stunned for a moment, blinking once, at the words. Master Sifo-Dyas had been killed on a mission in the same hectic months of the Invasion of Naboo, more than seven years ago now. What project -- no, wrong question. "I was sent by the Council," he answered, soft and smooth, "and yes, I would like to inspect the project. My name is Qui-Gon Jinn, Taun We, and this is my Padawan. 

"Might we see whoever is in charge of the project, before we go to inspect it?" 

"That would be Prime Minister Lama Su, and he is most pleased to know the Council has come to inspect their project," Taun We told them, inclining her head and blinking the lids over her large eyes once. It was almost a coy movement, but Qui-Gon did not think that was deliberate. "Come this way." She turned to lead them through the pristine hallways.

As they walked, Anakin tried to find the shadows here, tried to understand how such evil could come from what merely felt like life and work.

The light was almost blinding at first, reflecting off the curving walls, some of it coming from the ceiling, other sources set in along the walls at a height almost even with his head, but as his eyes adjusted, Qui-Gon found it almost soothing. This place was brilliantly, almost reflectively, clean, and he could feel the quiet hum of industrious hands and busy minds. 

They came to what first appeared to be the end of a hall, but then Taun We made a graceful gesture with one hand and it curved away in three parts, receding into the surrounding walls with a smooth, graceful twist. 

This room was round, and there was a single being in a chair suspended from the ceiling, with more brilliant light. Another Kaminoan, with somewhat darker skin, and darker clothing... who rose with that same incredible grace as they stepped through. 

Anakin noted the head-crest immediately, wondering if it marked a gender marker or a class marker. The garb was similar from the waist down, but the bodice of the clothing rose up in an elaborate collar, one that reminded him somewhat of something he'd seen the Queen of Naboo wear. That, he was betting, was a position marker. 

"Prime Minister Lama Su, this is Master Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, sent by the Council," Taun We introduced. 

Anakin did his best to keep his eyes lowered respectfully, playing up the impression of the apprentice role as seen from outside the Order. He could be still and silent, a sponge to anything said, and purposefully making himself part of the background so as to be unnoticeable.

Qui-Gon bowed deeply to Lama Su, almost startled to see the tall figure return the bow, extending his hands for a moment in a greeting. 

"I trust that you are going to enjoy your stay," Lama Su said, in a voice that was slightly lower, in what his ears heard as a more masculine range, even as he made a graceful gesture and another of the chairs descended from the ceiling, stopping somewhat lower to the floor. At a perfect height for him, Qui-Gon noticed, and he moved to take the chair, making a slight 'come-along' gesture to Anakin. He loathed doing it, and knew his padawan would need reassurance after, but if they considered Anakin irrelevant, his quick-witted dear friend could learn much. "We could wish that you had arrived at a better portion of the season, the storms are quite ferocious now, yet we are glad you have come." 

Lama Su sank down into his own seat, easily graceful, and turned it slightly towards him. "But now to business. We remain on schedule, Master Jedi. The first two-hundred thousand units will be completely ready in three standard years more, but the first seventy-five thousand have almost reached maturity."

//Units?// Qui-Gon remembered what their friend had said, that the Kaminoans were cloners without compare, but two-hundred thousand cloned lives? For what purpose? "I am pleased to hear that things progress well, Minister Su," he said, holding his voice steady, "but I am afraid I must bring you tragic news. Master Sifo-Dyas was killed several years ago. It was only recently that we realized that this project had been left unattended. 

"Would you be willing to tell me everything that he asked, please?" 

Lama Su dipped his head a few centimeters, seeming honestly distressed, though still very composed. "We are sorry for the loss to your Order, Master Jinn," he said respectfully. "And of course, we will see to reminding you of all the details, so that you will be perfectly satisfied with the end product."

Anakin listened, ears alert, as he kept his eyes down. If they were this open and honest, Obi-Wan might very well merely have the pleasure of a long nap in the smuggling hold. Anakin was being very hard-pressed to find any deception, though his skin crawled at the idea of people as products.

"Thank you, Minister Su," Qui-Gon replied, feeling Anakin's distress, but his focus must be on this information. He sat attentively, his eyes watching the tall, graceful being, and Lama Su seemed to smile slightly. 

"We ask your forgiveness, if we tell you something you already know, Master Jinn, but it is best to begin at the beginning, in such things. Master Sifo-Dyas approached us some seven and a half years ago. He wished us to begin production of a clone army for the defense of the Republic, and brought with him the access to a sufficient line of credit for our needed." 

Qui-Gon pushed all of his reactions off into the Force, holding to his calm with every ounce of his will. A _clone army_? The thought was an obscenity. He had known Master Sifo-Dyas, knew the man had been another like he and his Master, disillusioned with politics and concerned for the future of the Order and the Republic alike... but how could he have done _this_? 

What future had he seen in his visions that pushed him towards a course of action that treated living beings as nothing but 'units', 'products'? Why? 

Lama Su was continuing, his voice easy and steady, simply recounting the negotiations and details of a contract like any other. "We discussed with him what was necessary at some length. We would have liked to have had a Jedi as our primary clone sample, but Master Sifo-Dyas declined, instead sending us a bounty hunter he had chosen. 

"He _is_ an exceptional specimen, we must admit, and our clones from him are, I believe, the single best we have ever developed. As I said, we have none that are entirely finished maturing, unfortunately, but the original batches are close. The final order was for... two million," Lama Su nodded to himself for a moment, "over the course of twenty years from the inception of the project." 

//Two million?! People?!// Anakin's nostrils flared slightly, but he kept himself still otherwise. He was thankful enough that they were not cloned from a Jedi -- and alarm flared through him as he remembered the Sith warrior on Tatooine. What if that one, with all his Force ability and fighting skill had posed as the so-called bounty hunter? What if this Master Sifo-Dyas had already been working in league with a Sith, which seemed logical. Why else commission such an army?

//Focus...// Anakin reminded himself, and slid an impression of the red and black and horns and yellow eyes down the bond to Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon saw that impression and flickered understanding back to Anakin, his fingers shifting just slightly in acknowledgment. He did not think that was entirely likely but it was definitely something to consider, to keep in mind. "Of course, Minister Su. The first were to be ready in ten years, then?"

"Yes. The first two-hundred thousand, and they will be, I assure you. Will you come and tour the facility with me, so that you may see how we progress? We wish the Republic and the Jedi Council to be well-pleased with what we have created for them." 

There was a trace of eagerness in Lama Su's even, regal voice, and the tall Prime Minister was already rising to his feet, head turning towards him, one graceful hand extending to him. Beside them, Taun We seemed almost to be smiling, and her wide, dark eyes were bright, and Qui-Gon rose. 

The sheer pride in their work was staggering, to Anakin, mostly because he hated the idea of it being people being crafted and sold like this. He fell in at the respectful spot to the rear and right of Qui-Gon. To help stay calm, he remembered Obi-Wan's own words about why it was the right, not the left. 

_"Keeps your braid that much further from him for tweaking,"_ his big brother had said in a teasing tone. Anakin latched on to that happy moment in his memory to abate the memories of being sold, of seeing slaves lined up wholesale.

Qui-Gon reached back, laid his hand on Anakin's shoulder for a moment, then released it. Anakin was doing a good job of holding his emotions off the bond between them, staying shielded and centered, and Qui-Gon was proud of him for it. It was strange for him, being the one that had to stretch his stride to keep up with another being, but the two Kaminoans slowed their pace slightly when they seemed to realize that Anakin could not quite manage it. They walked through the white halls for a bit, took a turbolift, then stepped out into a covered, glass-walled walkway that would have looked perfectly natural on Coruscant. 

Everything here was round, he thought, looking above and around them at the gleaming wheels of individual globes, like test tubes set in a centrifuges, except impossibly large. The thought was shockingly clear, and he realized that it was because his mind was refusing to accept what was in front of him. Each of those 'test tubes' would hold a human child. There were probably hundreds on each wheel, and the wheels extended in all directions, up and down gleaming shafts, more than he could estimate at a glance. 

And each of them did hold a life. An embryo. Waves of life came from them at the merest touch of the Living Force, and Qui-Gon Jinn had to fight the urge to be profoundly ill across these gleaming floors. Not because the lives were tainted -- they were not, they were pure -- but because of the... industrial nature here of what should be a personal, almost sacred act. 

//They're all like me, only one parent.// Anakin could not escape that thought, or the parallel of slavery. Just as he had risked his life and limb to podrace, these beings had been made for dying as well. It made him so angry… but Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan both were trusting him to stay contained. He focused again, on his mother, safely on Naboo, cared for by all of his friends, the pilots. Using happy memories was a strong shield against the dark thoughts in his mind.

"Clones are creative thinkers, imbued with the full potential of ability granted by the genetics of their donor," Lama Su was saying. "We have a rigorous training program crafted to teach them, harness that potential, and bring it to full expression."

Qui-Gon nodded once, still feeling Anakin shielding... and feeling the quiet, pleased pride in Lama Su at doing his work well. "And each of these... they will be mature in ten years? How?" 

Lama Su smiled slightly. "We have long since perfected growth acceleration, Master Jinn. What nature requires more than twenty years to do, we do in ten. This," he lifted a hand, "is the most delicate phase, but with our methods, we have a success rate of more than ninety percent." 

"Very impressive," Qui-Gon said softly, while choking back his concerns over what happened to that other, 'unsuccessful', ten percent. 

Anakin choked off his own reaction to that, moving on to the smell of Padmé's hair and the softness of her skin when she hugged him. That was the level of emotional counterbalancing he needed now, thinking of the callous attitude toward life in this place. 

"With such prime material, we are learning our training program is more than sufficient to produce adaptable soldiers for any campaign necessary, and we have included security force modules, for after," Taun We stated. "To make productive use of any units not expended in initial engagements."

//Not expended in initial -- // Qui-Gon took a deep, slow, careful breath, and for a moment subsumed himself in the sense-memory of Obi-Wan asleep on his chest and in his arms, their bodies almost glued together, hearts beating in the same rhythm. 

She meant that any that were not killed in battle. These beings, all of these tiny human-looking infants sucking innocently at thumbs or toes in their baths of nutrient fluids, were to the Kaminoans no more than clever, adaptable droids. 

And a _Jedi Master_ had begun this? 

Lama Su turned his hand off to their left and down, and Qui-Gon saw hundreds of desks in another pod, ranks of them in a square. Computer terminals, with what appeared to be six-year-old children sitting in front of them, all in identical clothing, proceeding at a series of tasks while wearing elaborate neural connection-gear. They all had the same face, the same haircut. All boys, and they looked up -- almost as one -- at the movement past their window, observed, and returned to their tasks. 

//Disciplined,// Qui-Gon thought. //Too disciplined, for children. Oh, Force, guide me, bring me through this place without slaughtering the lot of their creators!// "...wise, to plan for the long-term," he managed to say. 

"We wish full satisfaction in our products," Taun We answered that. 

Anakin looked at the boys, younger than he'd been when he was freed, and knew one thing: they had to free them all. This was everything unjust in the galaxy in one small place. His anger was only deepening, no matter how hard he held onto the memory of that last hug from Padmé, when he had almost, foolishly, whispered that he loved her. He'd kept the words back then… and he could be that strong to not say words of anger now.

Horrifically, agonizingly, Qui-Gon could feel the truth of that. Taun We was proud of the work she did, as Lama Su was, proud of their skills and their creations, honestly pleased with it... and yet it was so callous. So utterly and completely wrong. These were living people, living _children_ , being trained for nothing but obedience, nothing but a life of orders and routine and death, with fully half their childhoods stolen from them in the name of having a 'product' ready more quickly... and the Kaminoans saw only a giant masterpiece of their skills. 

"They seem incredible," he managed to answer. "I am... overwhelmed, I think. Shall we go on?"

"Yes, of course," Lama Su agreed, smiling with his small mouth and bright eyes. "We wish you to see everything." 

He lead them quickly past many other rooms, where groups of these clones acted in their uncanny concert, training and eating and... climbing into narrow, transparent tubes along a corridor and closing their eyes to sleep. As they progressed, the ages climbed, from seven, to nine, to twelve or thirteen, fifteen... 

They stepped out onto a covered, shielded balcony, and Qui-Gon looked over the rail and down, saw, and flicked out the arm and sleeve of his robe to stop Anakin in his tracks, behind him, following the move with a // _Stay back_ // that he pushed across their training bond as firmly as he could. 

That he was seeing Anakin's vision in the flesh and driving rain was bad enough. With the state Anakin must already be in... he did not think his padawan could stand it. 

Anakin obeyed, reluctantly, averting his eyes and only staying as close as he had to be to still be with the group. It went unnoticed, as Taun We had pushed to the edge of the balcony to look down on the most matured product units.

"They will be fully conditioned to the protective armor casing and weapon units given to them at the end of the training program, to the point that they will not be a safety hazard by removing either without explicit permission," she said. "A warranty, of a particular kind, to further extend their usefulness."

"I see," Qui-Gon murmured, low and soft, even as he considered the idea of a life trapped in gleaming plastoid armor. He had seen helmets in rows, waiting, in one of the rooms they passed. "Amazing, Lama Su, Taun We. 

"I would like to see the training protocols -- what of them are not your secrets, of course -- and review them.... But I think I am too amazed," //well, it is more polite than 'contemplating mass homicide'// "to give anything my full attention at the moment. Would it be possible for us to return to our ship, and rejoin someone with that information at a later time?" 

//If I don't get Anakin away from this, he's going to snap.// 

"But of course, Master Jinn," Lama Su assured him. "We could provide you with accommodations here inside, though. The storms, even with the magnetic clamps of your ship's landing gear, will make the platform seem to rock more than the norm."

"It would be no inconvenience at all," Taun We said, sincere as ever.

"That is a generous offer, and I am grateful," he replied to them both, trying to decide what to do before he aroused their apparently-absent suspicions. "But we are unused to such a close presence of so much life, and our ship has additional shielding." 

It would be so much simpler for him to determine a course of action if these beings were not so genuinely kind, open, friendly and generous. If they were malicious, or egotistical, or outright tainted, he would know what to do... but this? 

Anakin, hearing his Master handle the situation so smoothly, was left with more pride and awe for the man, even as it bolstered his ability to keep calm. He used a rhythmic breathing exercise, tuning out the clones, tuning out all of the pieces of this factory that so affronted his senses--

\--and in doing so, he glimpsed a piece out of place. Up and just in his view, a boy, like the others, but with hair that was unconstrained and movements that spoke of free will, was on a higher observation point. He couldn't be more than six or seven, if Anakin was remembering what Kitster had looked like at that age correctly. He did not betray what he'd seen, just filing it away for his Master, for when they were on the ship.

"Ahh, that is understandable," Lama Su said, and he bobbed his head just that small amount. "Taun We will guide you out, and ready the training brief for when you are ready once more."

Qui-Gon placed his hands together before him and bowed again. "Thank you, Minister Su, for your time."

"It is my pleasure," the tall, elegant male replied, and turned away. Probably to return to his office, Qui-Gon thought. 

Taun We said, "This way, please, Master Jinn," and led them from the platform. She took a different route out, though, one that went into an outer corridor, with solid inner walls and windows that looked out on the fury of the storm and the sea. 

Qui-Gon rather thought the environment was doing an excellent job of expressing how he felt at the moment. Anakin kept his careful 'lesser' body language, all the way to the doors. He needed to be on that ship, needed to be where he could let go with a full tirade of language that was both creative and inventive in its full vulgarity, just to express some of what he was feeling.

This time, as they left, Qui-Gon did not bother with a force shield, and the run was not _nearly_ long enough. He slapped the control of the ramp with the Force almost from the doors, leapt the last quarter-meter of open space the ramp had not dropped yet, and bled off the momentum he'd built on the trip in getting up it and off to the side to clear space for Anakin. He tossed his head, hard, shaking water off his face and robe, and looked for his padawan. 

Anakin wasn't that far behind him, as the ramp still hadn't fully touched down when he skittered on board, knowing by Qui-Gon's Force presence more than sight to bank to the other side. There, he shrugged his outer robe off violently, not wanting to be trapped by the wet, cold, heaviness of it a moment longer than he had to be. 

At least he remembered to use finesse, one last time, as he hit the control to raise the ramp, before he just dropped against the inner bulkhead, drawing his knees toward his chest, in a barely rational method of dealing with how violently angry he felt.

Qui-Gon shrugged off his own robe, let it fall, and moved across the way to drop down next to Anakin, put an arm over his shoulders, stretch his legs out... and let himself shake with the horror and fury he had had to bank away and lock down through that entire 'tour'. "Oh, Ani," he heard himself murmur, barely audible, "I'm so sorry." 

"No, Master, no," Anakin said, voice thick with emotion. "We had to know, had to find out… so we can find a way to fix it. We have to save them. Somehow." His head banged back against the bulkhead a little, to remind himself he was free, he was on a Jedi ship, he still chose to serve and could walk away at any time.

Those lives inside that place would never have that choice, unless they fixed this.

"Yes," Qui-Gon agreed, loving Anakin all over again for that instant, powerful and passionate compassion. How anyone could have doubted that this boy _was_ the Chosen One, he had no idea. "We must -- we must. 

" _Kriff_ , I just want to scream..." 

"Please don't; you'll wake Obi-Wan," Anakin said, his brain on rote for witty answers as he just tried to understand himself, this place, and what to do next.

"Obi-Wan is fully awake, thank you very much," the Knight said, having gotten free of the hideaway after the pair left and nothing came to investigate the ship. He skidded to a stop near them, then dropped down on the decking beside his Master and beloved partner. He did not touch either of them, letting them work through the issues together. 

To say that the slices of emotion that had cut into him from each of them had left him struggling for peace was an understatement. But he hadn't seen, could only feel the cycling of anger from each of them, and how ruthlessly they kept cutting it off.

Qui-Gon shifted, carefully moving one booted foot to hook his ankle behind Obi-Wan's calf. He was still shaking, unable to gather anything like his usual calm. But at least, with two sets of eardrums to consider, the urge to simply throw his head back and scream until his throat was raw was receding. "Your profane vocabulary's better than mine, Ani, _have at_." 

"Takes the fun out to have permission," Anakin grumbled, but he could feel his fists clenching as he remembered that simultaneous investigation and dismissal by the ones hooked into the terminals for learning. It started in Huttese, and kept rolling into the Gungan he'd picked up from Padmé, cursing Sifo-Dyas, cursing the Separatists, cursing Sidious. He didn't stop until a final, anguished little plea to figure out _how_ to help them came out in the very end. Obi-Wan swallowed hard, his heart aching for the boy, and for his lover, and for whatever hell was in store for the massive life pulse inside that facility.

Qui-Gon held him tighter at that last, anguished noise. He had let himself lean deep into the training bond, letting Anakin's furious tirade, the outpouring of anger and grief and rage that slowly subsided wash through him and take his own fury along with it. It wasn't enough, nothing would be enough until he could push his body to exhaustion... but it gave him a semblance of control. 

Once Anakin had been quiet for a few moments, he said softly, "That covers it nicely, Ani, thank you." 

Anakin wound his arms around his Master's neck and hugged him tight before finally drawing away. He felt calmer. It was a structured calm, but he had pushed his anger and fear and confusion away in the swearing, and he thought he could handle whatever the Force guided them to next.

"Is there anything to be gained by me doing a quiet recon of the facility?" Obi-Wan asked, having determined two points of entry he might be able to use undetected in studying the scans the ship had taken.

"Well, it's you," Anakin said. "So you'd be able to waltz around in there without becoming a ball of rage."

The Knight was certain he deserved that, and it was true to a point; he generally held his emotions in better check than Anakin. But he also doubted it in this case, as both the man he loved and his little brother were too strongly affected.

Qui-Gon snorted softly, tapping Ani on one shoulder reprovingly, before he settled his hand there again. "I don't believe so, my own. Unless you've suddenly become a slicer, to raid their data-banks for _complete_ copies of the information they've promised to have available to me shortly...?" 

"No, that is not a set of skills I tend toward," Obi-Wan said, watching Anakin half-glare at Qui-Gon for the tap before settling. "Then I will stay here, inside the ship, unless I am needed, and continue studying the Separatist data we do have."

Anakin pushed upright at that. "Yes! That's what we have to do, Master!" His face grew very animated. "If we stop the Separatists, completely, there will be no reason for an Army to exist! And then…" He deflated a little. "We might convince them to stop making more people, but we'd have to find some way to help all the ones they already created. Because you can't just free people. They have to learn how to be free too."

Qui-Gon nodded his agreement, but oh, that deflation was painful to see. And yet, at the same time, he was so proud of his young padawan for seeing so clearly. "We will find it, Ani. We will. 

"The resources that's going to take... are staggering, but we must. Right along with finishing dismantling this Separatist movement." He sighed, deep, and raked his left hand through the wet mass of his hair, tightening his fist in it at the back of his head. "This would be so much simpler if those weren't _good people_..." 

"I know. I … don't like that they see people as things, but even there, they are doing what they see as right to protect them… so they can go die as ordered," Anakin said, working through that mass of an ethics trap.

"The easiest way to dismantle the Separatists is to fracture their alliances," Obi-Wan said off-handedly. "Which means preventing Sidious from getting anyone else in there for strong-arming their differences away. That being my thought as to Tyranus's role." He could focus on that problem. He knew tactics and psychology of that form, as his chief focus was in negotiation. To cope with the ethical storm of thousands of cloned life forms was not something he wished to tackle, not when he was the only one of the three holding a proper reserve.

Qui-Gon nodded, his hand still resting on Anakin's shoulder, his eyes searching Obi-Wan's. He could see that his beloved was deliberately avoiding asking them what had happened, what they had seen, focusing instead on what he knew they could do, what they must do in order to bring this to an end, and he nodded. 

"I believe you are right on that, my own. In his public persona, he had both legal and moral authority to bring to bear -- publicly -- upon the Separatist governments, but privately, that overpowering presence of his -- yes, 'strong-arm' is entirely the right word." 

Qui-Gon's earlier words about a slicer mixed with Anakin's thoughts on all those poor droids that were being created to be destroyed, and he balanced it against the very helpless human lives inside the facility.

"The Trade Federation droids probably still have a weakness through their networking processes," he reasoned out loud. "Even if we know from other encounters that the newer models and the ones created by the Techno Union don't. But if we could recruit some good slicers to sabotage the more primitive droids, it would cause a stew pot of trouble for their alliance, I think," he offered, looking from Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon to see what their reactions were.

That made Qui-Gon tip his head slightly, humming thoughtfully for a moment, appreciating the practicality to focus on. "...you may have something there, Ani. You just may. It would probably be considered incredibly unethical... but so long as the coding could not escape the specific models of droids... better that than the coming war." 

"Far better than a war," Obi-Wan said. "And the sabotage need not be of the destructive variety, thus mitigating the loss of droids that could be repurposed, if the Trade Federation and other parties can be brought back into Republic circles." He gave Anakin a smile. "Well worth thinking on, and a good potential tool for us."

Anakin felt a warm glow to hear both of them credit his idea that much. If he could just limit the destruction, if they could bring this whole Crisis to an end with as little ruin to any side as possible… and it clicked in his mind. "Master. I think I understand now. No matter who wins a war, the destruction and loss of life and resources, don't they leave both sides struggling to manage normal life after?"

Qui-Gon nodded, squeezing Anakin's shoulder, pleased and proud. "Yes, Ani. Yes, it does. Though I think some of our Masters would say 'no-one wins a war, it is only that one side loses less'." 

"Leaving people looking for someone to fix it all, right?" Anakin asked, pressing in toward his conclusion. "Wanting to have someone else take the burden, to let them do whatever it takes to make it all better?"

Obi-Wan began to see the thrust of that line of questions, and he drew in a tight, hissing breath at at the idea. "The Senate would never…."

"But they might! If worlds were ravaged and people are hungry and poor, and they could fix it by voting one way," Anakin insisted.

Qui-Gon, who had seen a little more of the worlds than Obi-Wan, nodded, slow and pained. "So they might, Ani. They might choose to give over much liberty in exchange for the promise of safety. And freedom from responsibility has long been a powerful drive for people to accept the otherwise intolerable." 

Obi-Wan looked absolutely horrified at the idea. Anakin watched his face for a long moment, then shook his head.

"That? That's what I feel inside _there_ ," he said, jerking his thumb toward the outside of the ship. "On Tatooine, people would do anything to be safe and fed. Anything. Giving up freedom doesn't seem like much to me at all, as a price people would pay. That's what Sidious is doing. He manipulated a war, to make people embrace his power."

"And the only way that will work, is if the Jedi are somehow whittled down to nothing, because we would encourage Senators to fight for their peoples' rights," Obi-Wan said, pushing through his emotions to carry out the logical progression.

"Whittled down," Qui-Gon agreed, "or... massively discredited. If one of us could become not just a rebel, but a Sith..." 

He was not entirely certain he understood what Anakin had said he was feeling from the cloning facility, but they could return to that in a moment or three. At present, Obi-Wan and Anakin were on to something both powerful and dangerous. 

"Which means Tyranus's origin will be 'leaked'," Anakin said bleakly, and he shifted to hug Qui-Gon around his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Master," he whispered. 

"I believe Master Plo Koon can handle that adeptly, given the distance that had already existed," Obi-Wan said. "I think, as much as I dislike the thoughts Anakin provokes, that we may have figured out Sidious's long-term plans. To engineer a situation where he has ultimate power, and eliminates the Jedi Order's prestige and place."

Qui-Gon nodded slowly, wrapping Anakin back up in his arm, even as he made a low, quiet noise. "Not his origins, all know that, but... the depth of his fall. Obi-Wan is right, though. Plo Koon can manage that part of the mess -- which may backfire on him. The Separatist systems will, with any luck, run very quickly away from rumor of being associated with a Sith. 

"If we are very lucky, they will claim that they were manipulated _by_ the Sith in their midst, unknowing victims of Dark Side plots." He would have spit, if they were on ground that could absorb it, and knew that was in his voice, but there had to be hope somewhere in this. 

Anakin nodded slowly. "So many Separatists are non-human. Is that why the Order shuffled the Council around?" 

"Actually, Ani, it was your encounter with the Chancellor," Obi-Wan told him. "The emphasis on 'human' was noted, and the human Jedi are stepping back to supporting roles, to put a subtle pressure against his bigotry, to encourage him to make a mistake. But it will also serve us well in helping the Separatists return to the fold, to see that we do not share that human-first theory. 

"Master Windu told me before I left Coruscant that there was much in the idea that we had sown our own dissent, by not paying better attention to such species imbalances that have arisen," he added, showing that the former Master of the Order had paid attention to Qui-Gon's questioning, raised years before by Anakin in such innocence.

"Well, that took long enough," Qui-Gon murmured, dry-voiced, "but I _am_ pleased to hear it. I thought there might be some of that in the change, but it's good to have it confirmed." 

Anakin's face scrunched up, before the memory of that conversation on Ilum, when he'd been first trying to learn how to build a lightsaber, came back to him, and he just stared at Obi-Wan for a long moment.

"I never really thought anything else about it. Things don't ever change for the better, not big things with so much history," he said, shocked that the new Council make-up was built around something he'd said.

Obi-Wan leaned forward and reached out to ruffle his hair, smiling more when Anakin attempted evasion. "You shook me up so badly that night, little brother, which meant it needed more thinking about."

"Not just you, my own," Qui-Gon replied, "I cornered Mace years ago on the matter. And yes, changes embedded deep in the system take a very long time to change, Ani, but they _can_ be changed, if enough people have the will to do it." 

"We'll see," the boy said with cynical skepticism. He then sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back to rest. "All like me. One parent; things to be sold; prized for skill; used to probably go and die. At least I knew Mom loved me completely; they probably don't even know that much."

Qui-Gon had started to make an amused comment on Anakin's cynicism, but then there was that shift back, and he was glad he'd held his tongue. His arm tightened again. That. _That_ was among the reasons the clones inside had distressed and enraged Anakin so badly, above and beyond the general obscenity of what was being done. 

"Probably not, no," he replied, soft. The Kaminoans were, he thought, honestly proud of their work, their creations, and wanted well for them but that was worlds away from love. 

"I wonder if the boy is loved," Anakin said aloud. "I had to tune it all out, make myself see the containers and clones as part of the background. And there was a boy, maybe six or seven, hair growing naturally and him moving with freedom in his motions," he recalled. "I wonder about him. Or is he some kind of control model in their eyes? What they are building in its wild state?" Those words came out tinged in anger.

Obi-Wan was curious, but he knew to be quiet, to let Anakin work through this.

Qui-Gon blinked. "I was watching Lama Su and Taun We, not our surroundings. I did not see the boy -- good work, Anakin. And that is definitely a question worth investigating. If there is one not like the others, in this place, there is a reason, and a purpose." 

"I'll find out, Master. I'm good at irresponsibly wandering off, after all," Anakin said, forcing a bit of humor into that.

Qui-Gon snorted amusement and nodded once. "So you are, Ani, so you are and it is so often useful for us." Obi-Wan nodded, and settled to wait with them, for the next phase of this mission.

++++

Anakin, true to his word, got separated from Qui-Gon as they went back in. He could stay much calmer now; he had the beginning ideas of a plan, and that meant he could be patient. Mostly. Now, he cast about in the Force, trying to find the sensation that was different from the clones and the Kaminoans. Qui-Gon was a bright beacon at the center of his awareness, and he made certain to provide support down the link, since he was actually delving into the training program.

He received an affectionate brush of almost distracted support himself, Qui-Gon obviously settling into his work, and thinned that link as he kept searching the complex for that 'different' feeling. The Kaminoans he passed seemed to pay little attention to him, conversing in their low, softly musical voices, with the white walls and bright lights everywhere. 

He found the presence he was looking for, and went in that direction. 

Boba had seen the strangers, and been suspicious, but suspicion was a survival skill. His father was teaching him all the ways to stay alive, always, and that was one of the top ones. It had led him to move around in the facility, making certain nothing was out of place… and now one of the strangers was in his path.

Boba evaluated the stranger. Tall for the age, not full grown, hair short except the braid, and that braid confirmed the strangers were Jedi. He'd thought so, based on the robes, but his father had trained him to know the dangerous beings that transcended species to meddle in affairs not theirs. Confirmation was always necessary, to avoid errors in a task.

Anakin could feel the wariness, the edged appraisal, in the boy in front of him, and he quickly flashed an easy smile, his hands swinging free at his sides. "Hi," he said in Basic, looking at the boy -- youngling age, more than padawan, he thought. "You were looking for me as much as I was looking for you, I think. I'm Anakin Skywalker." 

"Might have been," the boy said, eyes going from head to toes and back again. The robes hid weapons. His father said so. Probably only a laser sword, which could be defended by using an electro-prod or other energy staff of some kind. "Boba. Boba Fett." He didn't want to arouse suspicion by failing at social cues, and the exchange of names was meant as a peaceful thing.

This Jedi could be studied, memorized, so that he could tell his dad later about him.

This boy reminded him of Rakir, in his mannerisms, in the careful, evaluating gaze and the wary tension, and Lama Su had said that the 'genetic material' for the thousands of clones had come from a -- 

\-- wait. 'Fett'. _Fett_. And human features, but with Mandalorian-style armor waiting for them. He knew that name, knew too much of what had happened to the man because of the Jedi, since working with Obi-Wan on figuring out what had happened to their Master's Master. 

And even before that, Jango Fett had had a reputation on Tatooine, as well. Feared, respected, known as an honorable if remorseless and ruthless hunter. "Nice to meet you, Boba. 'Fett'; would you be any kin to Jango Fett?" 

Suspicion sparked in those dark eyes for a moment, before being smoothed away by training. "He's my dad," Boba admitted, to see if there was anything he could learn from the reaction. He was surprised by that respectful tone, because Dad said Jedi were arrogant to a fault, a trait to use against them in encounters.

That startled Anakin -- he'd never heard even a whisper of Jango Fett having a child, but then again, this boy would only have been a year old when he left Tatooine -- but he nodded. The tone of the 'my dad' sounded a lot like his own 'my mom', and that soothed down an edge of the fury he had been feeling for this boy in particular. "I used to hear stories about him on Tatooine, when I was a kid. Is he really as amazing as they said?" 

_Tatooine. Hutt territory. Useful at times._ Those impressions flowed through Boba, but he was already nodding. "My father is the best at what he does." He was proud of being the son of the most feared bounty hunter in the Outer Rim. "How can you be a Jedi? They never bother with Outer Rim worlds," Boba said, curious.

That fierce pride, the quick, sharp smile — oh, that was good, and Anakin felt himself relax a little more. And then there was that sharp question, and almost despite himself, he laughed, nodding his agreement. "Normally no, they don't, unless they're completely messing something up." 

That was as close as he was going to get, at the moment, to telling this boy that he was sorry for what had happened to his father -- Sithspit, Boba might not even know. _He_ wouldn't want to tell a child of his something like that, not this young -- but it was there. "But my teacher -- my Master, we say -- had to land on Tatooine with a damaged ship, and he found me. 

"He pushed for me to be accepted, even though I break all of their rules."

"Huh." Boba liked the way the Jedi boy said all of that, hearing something that was more than what his father said of the Jedi. "Why are you here now?" He asked it, not really expecting a proper answer, but sometimes it gave more information to see how an answer was evaded.

Anakin could see no reason not to answer. "I had a Vision of this place, and when we started to investigate, we found that this world had been hidden, its data jumbled in our Archives. That meant trouble of some kind, so we came.

"What do you think, of what they're doing here, for the Council and the Republic?" 

Boba shrugged. "It's just business for Taun We and the others. What's to think about?"

Anakin shrugged slightly in return -- he could remember seeing that same disinterest in so many others, and many of the clones were older than this boy was. He would never have known a world without them. It was amazing, what you could get used to. "Well, you're free-born. You would think that." 

The boy's nose wrinkled up as he tried to decide what the Jedi meant by that, and then he just decided there was no point in trying to figure out a Jedi. Not without a profit on the other side of it, as his father would say. 

"The clones will do what they were promised to," he said with a dismissive air to it.

Anakin felt his eyes glitter, his head go back, and he looked across the meter or so separating them with his lips tightening before he took a breath. This was where Boba had grown up, with these people that thought of living beings as 'units' and 'products'. "And probably be amazing at it, if they're from your dad's 'genetic template'. 

"Does it _ever_ stop raining here?" 

"Sometimes," Boba said, noticing that unease, before the Jedi changed the topic. "Not during the storm season though. But even if it wasn't raining, it's not a good idea to go outside near the railings. The fish and birds both are predatory. Dangerously so."

"...the fish come _out_ of the water?" 'Fish' were still fairly strange creatures to him, let alone fish that would come hunting on solid surfaces. "And I thought being hunted by colo and opee was bad enough."

"Sometimes the fish win, sometimes the birds do," Boba said, enthusiastic on the topic. "Sometimes, neither side wins, because the fish grabs wrong, or the bird can still tear at it." He looked at the Jedi a long moment. "Do you actually hunt, or just wind up on the wrong side of the hunters?"

"Oh, like sand bats and anoobas," Anakin nodded, understanding _that_ rather vividly. Swimming sand bats and flying anoobas, now there were nightmare thoughts. "We hunt, if there's reason. 

"But it's difficult to kill, when you feel the other life die. You -- or at least I -- have to believe you're doing it for the right reasons. A Jedi that can kill easily is already halfway to Falling, or worse." 

Boba listened to that, searching for the lies. Jedi had slaughtered his father's people, had created a rift that could never be filled. Yet, Boba knew not to let the bitterness linger. He was his father's son, and his father had the legacy of the clones now. The Jedi had failed to destroy them completely, and never would, so far as Boba and his father were concerned.

Anakin studied the boy's set face, the intently appraising cast of his features, and knew that he had been wrong. Boba did know what had happened to his father's people. "You're thinking about Dooku," he said, quiet, "and what he did.

"He was wrong -- he was lied to, and manipulated as much as your father was -- but he was still wrong. He should have done better." 

That made Boba Fett's eyes go very narrow as he looked at the young Jedi. "He did it, and it cannot be undone," the boy said with certainty, showing that the destruction of his heritage was certainly something he knew well. 

"No," Anakin agreed quietly, "it can't. Nothing can fix that, or make it better, or bring them back. But I am sorry that a Jedi failed so badly, and that it caused such destruction and harm. 

"Yeah, and that and ten _wupiupi_ will buy you a shot of _boga noga_ , I know." 

Boba snorted with amusement, despite his disdain for the first words. "Something to think on," he finally said. He then cocked his head, listening to the whispers of echoes through the corridors. "Maybe you can think on how Jedi should fix their messes before making them worse," he added, before walking away. He was pretty certain he was hearing the change of shifts, and that meant it was time to eat.

Anakin nodded once, deciding that was absolutely the best he was going to get out of this, and started back to find his Master. 

The proof was in the doing of things, not the saying; maybe one day, he would be able to show Boba Fett that the Jedi _were_ trying to fix their messes. If they worked hard enough at it, anyway. 

++++

Taun We offered more tea to the Master Jedi as he read through the training programs carefully. He'd been at it for some time; Anakin had come back and picked up the pad he'd already finished studying, adding his experience and worldview to the search.

"I would be pleased to bring you a meal, Master Jinn, as you have been quite absorbed in this for some time now," she said, having poured the tea for him.

Qui-Gon blinked once, then realized that she was right, and he was somewhat hungry. Also, his eyes ached, just slightly, from staring at the screens for so long. "I would be grateful, Taun We, thank you," he agreed. 

"Shall I bring something for the boy as well?" Taun We asked.

"Yes, please, Taun We. I'm not sure I have ever known Anakin not to be hungry."

Anakin bit back the comment about 'someone has to remind you to eat' that he would have made if they were alone, and only shrugged his shoulders slightly. 

"I will return shortly with a meal for you both then." Taun We gracefully left them alone, and Anakin looked over at his Master.

"Full education of literacy, maths, sciences, but there's nothing cultural in the education pad you handed me. Nothing to really explain the concept of any society in terms beyond dry facts," he said once they were alone.

"Mmm," Qui-Gon murmured, soft. "I saw that, though that's not so different from Jedi training, in some ways. We are taught to attempt to interact with each culture we encounter on its own terms, to learn the basics as we need to, more than to understand all. But this training ignores all cultures, I think, except their own." 

"A culture built on brotherhood, orders, and obedience," Anakin said with a sigh. "I mean, at least they are encouraged to bond with each other in a huge fraternity, but it's the 'do this so you can go die together' part that I hate."

"So do I, Ani. So do I. Very much so. But indeed, they do, at least, have the bonding to each other to support them. And we will find ways for them to have full lives without this war we must prevent, somehow.

"How did your wandering go?" 

Anakin shook his head. "I found the boy. His name is Boba Fett." He waited to see if the name rang any bells in the Jedi Master before continuing. "Son of Jango Fett. Which is something never whispered on Tatooine, but he would have been an infant when you rescued me, at most, or not even born yet then."

"Jango Fett," Qui-Gon whispered, that name sinking a blade into his chest. He knew that name, of course. That was the survivor of -- 

"-- layers within layers, there are in this, Anakin," he said, barely aware that he was speaking. "For that man to have chosen to aid the Jedi, the Republic, in any way." 

"It was not without deceit, Master, I think," Anakin said firmly. "The boy, as young as he is, has a distrust, maybe even distaste, for us as a group, one that speaks of knowing the past." He shook his head. "I tried, Master, to let the boy see the other side of that massacre. To be an envoy of understanding, like Obi-Wan pushes me to be."

"I cannot blame the boy, nor certainly his father, for distrust or even hate, given how he suffered. But all we can do is exactly what you did, and attempt to show that we mean to do better. Well done, Ani." 

"Thank you, Master," Anakin responded with a warm glow at the praise. "Hopefully, it helps in the long run." He then quieted, feeling the approach of Taun We, and he fell back to studying the data.

"I hope so," Qui-Gon agreed, before he looked up as the door twisted open before Taun We. He quickly cleared space for her to put the tray of food down -- it smelled delicious, if strange, and he found himself smiling at the elegant female as he thanked her. 

Even with his horror at their actions, how much he wanted to stop this entire practice, it was difficult not to like these serene, gentle, open beings. 

"Please enjoy," she said. "I do need to tend to evening duties now, but if you need anything, merely activate that comm unit there and ask for me," she offered.

"I shall," Qui-Gon agreed. "Rest well, if I do not see you again before the morning."

"Thank you, Master Jinn," she said before withdrawing. Anakin watched her leave this time, before he tasted the food.

"Not bad, and why do they have to be so nice?"

"Isn't that _just_ the question?" Qui-Gon agreed, shaking his head slightly. He had had that very discussion -- at some length -- with Obi-Wan before they had slept. He had tried to be concise, to present the facts to his partner more calmly than those first minutes back on the ship had been and that had only mostly gone as he planned. The details of those clones, that he had managed -- but in discussing their creators, these mysterious, lovely, gentle people who felt only pride in the abomination they were part of, his calm had failed him again. 

"I could, I admit, do without this particular test from the Force. But we are the ones that have found it, so." 

"So, we will be strong, read through all of this and then go stop them from being required," Anakin said with fierce determination.

"Yes," Qui-Gon agreed. "So far, I've found nothing suspicious; did you see anything else?" 

He cast a glance at the pile of data pads, all carefully labeled, and wished one of them would give him some signal that it was the one that held the waiting poison, the hidden trap just waiting to be sprung; none did, of course. 

They were going to have to do this by hand. A droid could read them faster... but a droid was unlikely to see the nuances in words. That, however, _was_ one of a Jedi's skills, or at least, one they were trained to. 

"It's going to be a long night," Anakin said, half-chuckling. "So eat, and we'll tackle it again after the food, okay, Master?"

"Yes," Qui-Gon agreed, and put the pad he was working through down to devote himself to the meal. They would go back to it soon, once they'd had a few moments to rest. 

+++++

Qui-Gon had almost decided that they were looking in the wrong place, after another day of reviewing data pads of training material. Anakin had taken to ferrying data pads out to Obi-Wan (under the pretext of jogging back and forth to the ship for exercise as he read), after dinner on that first day, when they had both found nothing in the educational materials. They had both hoped that Obi-Wan's perspective would see something they had not but so far, nothing. 

Then he opened a data pad as innocuous as any other, marked simply 'Contingency Orders', and before he had finished the first page, his blood was running cold. He centered himself, firmly, using a youngling breathing exercise that linked him to everything he loved about the Order, and when he was calm again, he reached for the communicator. 

"Taun We?"

"Yes, Master Jedi?" 

"Who wrote these 'Contingency Orders' contained in pad 38?"

"Why," he could almost see the blink of her bright-centered dark eyes, "Master Sifo-Dyas, Master Jedi. He sent them with another Master, but we were assured they came from him. Why, is there a problem?" 

"Yes," he said, soft, "there is. Did you meet this 'other master' yourself?"

"No, Master Jedi. Nala Se did. Shall I send her to you?" 

"Yes, please."

"As you wish, Master Jedi. May I attend as well?" 

Anakin listened closely. The tension in his Master was in their bond but not visible outwardly. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever be as good at masking his emotions.

Qui-Gon considered for a moment, then nodded to himself. "If you wish, Taun We. I will be waiting here for you." 

"We will arrive shortly, Master Jedi." 

"Thank you," he said, and turned off the communicator to wait.

Despite his curiosity, Anakin waited in silence. There was no need to pester Qui-Gon when he would reveal his findings soon enough.

It did not take long for the two Kaminoans to join them. Anakin reached for the Force to be certain which was Taun We, as his eyes could not distinguish the subtle differences of the beings yet. 

"This is Nala Se. Master Qui-Gon Jinn has questions," Taun We said, and Anakin congratulated himself on identifying her.

"Was this the 'Jedi' who came?" Qui-Gon asked, as he manipulated a holo cube in his other hand, bringing up the last image he had of his former Master and him together, offering it to her. 

Nala Se dipped her head down, peering at it, and spread her hands in a graceful gesture of confusion. "The hair seems right? The general shape? But all of you adult humans look very similar to me, especially in those terrible things that make all proper hues nothing..." 

Anakin could sympathize with her. He was still trying to learn the subtle differences between aliens.

"Would a voice recording help?" he asked. "I may have one in my study materials on our ship." Master Dooku still had courses recorded that padawans had to learn.

"Your apprentice has a useful suggestion," Taun We said. She seemed surprised, possibly because Anakin was a youth and unfinished.

"It might," Nala Se said, swinging her head to look at Anakin, before she nodded at Taun We, agreeing. "Voices _are_ more distinctive, yes." 

"Go, Ani," Qui-Gon said, keeping his voice even and steady, not as urgent as he felt. "He is very gifted, Taun We," he agreed, speaking before Anakin could reach the door, "and a credit to our Order." 

Nala Se straightened, looking at him from her luminous dark eyes. "Whoever this Jedi is, would it make such a difference if he was the one to bring the orders? Master Sifo-Dyas and I had spoken long on what he wished..." 

"It will matter a very great deal, Nala Se," Qui-Gon answered her, a chill flickering up and down his spine. "While we wait for my apprentice to return, would you answer a different sort of question? You said 'all proper hues nothing'... I'm afraid I don't understand." 

Nala Se and Taun We both smiled for a moment, their eyes brightening in amusement even as Nala Se reached unerringly past him for one of the educational pads and brought up a display of the full light spectrum. "This is the standard human range of vision, according to our tests," she said, indicating the band of violet to red he was familiar with, "yes?" 

Qui-Gon nodded, and Nala Se manipulated the data, showing from mid-ultraviolet -- nothing but gleaming white to him, indicated by wavelength only, to somewhere in the light orange hues, "This is our visual range, though in the wider wavelengths, things are mostly gray, rather than colored." 

Anakin didn't run; Jedi were supposed to move with decorum when it was not a pressing matter, but he wanted to. He did have to dash from the door to the ship, trying to ward off as much rain as he could though he pulled his hood up over his head for extra cover. At this rate, he was going to have the sensor plate on the ramp Force-memorized, getting it down at just the right level for him to jump up inside. 

His gear was in the smaller berth space, and he shuffled through the data pads he had brought with him. The one… yes, he had brought it. Dooku's lecture on advanced telekinesis was on this one, recorded by Master Asli Krimsan. 

Obi-Wan appeared in the door before he found it, curious, and Anakin shook his head at his big brother. "Tyranus was probably here," he growled.

"That's why our Master is so tightly shielded," Obi-Wan commented. 

"The data pad has his voice; we're hoping it will help confirm because the Kaminoans have as problem with our looks as I'm having with theirs," Anakin said, before tucking the data pad inside his tunic, readying for the run back inside.

Obi-Wan snorted in half-amusement, half-frustration, and nodded. "That makes sense, I suppose. How was he so far ahead of us for so long?" He grumbled, walking back to the ramp with Anakin. "Can't wait to hear tonight's summary." 

Qui-Gon blinked at her answer, a little startled, but nodded. "I can understand how that would make things difficult," he agreed, wondering to himself if that meant that what they saw as blank, featureless white walls, the Kaminoans saw as textured or multi-hued? 

"It might be explosive!" Anakin said before he vanished, pelting over to the door and inside. There, he caught himself, still in the entry and pushed his hood back. He shook a little, and was pleased that the robe wasn't absolutely dripping. Then, with a quick but proper pace, he made his way back to his Master.

"Every species has vastly different abilities, and it affects much of their interaction with the world," Taun We said. "We do our best to distinguish between those that come, but it would be most impolite to insist on genetic identification of all of our clients."

"...yes," Qui-Gon agreed, "I suppose it would be."

They fell into a quiet then, an easy, calm state, until Anakin returned. 

When Anakin stepped in, he fished the data pad out and set it on the table they were working from. He pulled up the lesson he needed, skipping through the text only portions to the lecture. The deep rumble of Dooku's voice filled the room, expanding on the concept of using Force manipulation as a defensive power, and other applications. He watched both Kaminoans as it began to play, and saw Nala Se concentrate.

"It is a rich timbre, and very similar to the Jedi I dealt with, yes. What little difference I can recall is easily a fault of the recording and playback," she told Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon nodded, breathing out a slow sigh as half of his suspicions were confirmed at once. "That explains much," he said, knowing his voice was grim. "Nala Se, Taun We... I must tell you something. That man, once known as the Jedi Master Dooku, left the Order at roughly the same time Master Sifo-Dyas was killed. 

"And more than left the Order, he turned to the service of the Sith." 

"Sith?" Taun We asked, not certain of this new term. 

"He did not have Jedi approval to do this?" Nala Se asked, confused that someone outside the Order would come and give instructions for it.

Anakin was struck, yet again, by the fact they were such honest people. Both women were clearly bothered by this revelation.

Qui-Gon shook his head. "He did not, Nala Se. Not at all. 

"The Sith, Taun We, are millennia-old enemies of the Jedi and the Republic alike. Once, almost a millennia ago, they held an Empire of their own, but it was eventually destroyed, at terrible cost, and they withdrew themselves into the shadows of the Dark Side of the Force. 

"They trade in destruction and chaos, in pain and suffering... 'evil' has a different definition in every culture, I know not what yours may be, but always, the Sith embody the fast, destructive, self-destroying path to power and conquest." 

Nala Se and Taun We looked at one another, then back at Qui-Gon. "Are the units compromised by what was pressed upon us in this Sith's communications with us?" Nala Se asked, imploring him to deny it with her eyes. 

"It would be a grave matter if so, as we are so far along in the production," Taun We added.

Anakin firmly squelched his instinctive anger and fear for what would happen to 'compromised units', focusing on memories of watching the handmaidens and Padmé swimming in the lake. That would keep him far from the thought of tearing this place apart to protect those that had never had any choice in their creation or shaping.

He could see her plea, so clearly, and the spike of Anakin's furious fear reminded him to step very carefully indeed here. "I found nothing compromising in any of the material I have looked at other than these 'Contingency Orders', and I have not gotten far in them. 

"Soldiers must be able to adapt to new orders and conditions, you have said that these are excellent at that, Taun We. Is it possible, once I have looked at these Orders most carefully, and shown you that I _do_ come from the Council, to amend any questionable material, and protect the troopers from any Sith influence?" 

Nala Se was breathing easier, it seemed to Anakin at that answer.

"That will be most simple to do, Master Jinn," Taun We assured him. "The contingency orders are one of the final modules in the training program, connected to a final augmentation that is meant to be instituted before final delivery."

"I am very relieved to hear that, Taun We," Qui-Gon told her, more than meaning it. If he had given another answer, he thought, the Kaminoans might well have -- 

\-- he could not actually think it, especially not with Nala Se's eyes glowing in relief, her breathing steadying. This Kaminoan, at least, cared about the clones, in some fashion. "I will see to this, and discuss this problem of manipulation with the Jedi Council. We will write amendments to these Orders, and bring them to you to discuss. 

"Is this acceptable?" 

"It is indeed," Taun We told him. "We will be awaiting communication of your credentials from the Jedi Temple in preparation, and prefer it be you with your apprentice that bring them. As we know you both, and the combination of a young one with a mature one will assist in the recognition pattern."

Anakin felt relief at the answer, and hoped that nothing side-tracked them from getting this done swiftly.

Qui-Gon felt a sudden surge of his own relief, and he bowed to both of them in thanks and appreciation. "We will do so, then, Taun We. I am grateful to be able to return to the wisdom of my elders in this task. I hope we will be able to return to you very shortly." 

He had been expecting to need to have the myriad arguments this was going to take via holo-conference, and had _not_ been looking forward to the experience. Also, the ability to return to Coruscant was _definitely_ a profound relief. 

All three of them needed some time with the most difficult training courses and sparring partners the Temple could provide, to work this out of their systems. 

Taun We nodded, lifting her hand in a farewell gesture. "Travel swiftly and safely, Master Jedi. We will see you upon your return." 

The two tall females turned away to leave, and this time, Qui-Gon nodded to Anakin that they were leaving as well. 

He didn't think he had ever been quite this glad to be heading off a planet in all of his years. Even Telos IV, with all of its terrible memories, had not been as fraught as this one. With the contrast all of those individual pulses of life pounding against their minds while knowing they had been created only to die, against these gentle, baffling people that somehow had so little empathy for the lives they created.

Which meant that the _last_ thing he wanted to see, as they stepped out of the doors into the pounding rain again, was one of the tall, slim Kaminoan profiles standing, soaking wet, against one of the ship's magnetic footings. A very unseemly //What now?!// flashed through his mind as he kept moving towards his ship. 

A secret Sith ally? A Separatist? 

Then the ramp was lowering -- he hadn't hit the release, had Anakin? No, Ani felt as confused as he did. 

The being moving to the bottom of the ramp ahead of them laughed, softly, and blinked large blue-black eyes at him. "I must speak with you, younglings, and then we must go," she said in a voice that carried to them as though the howl of the storm was nothing. 

"Master?" Anakin asked, giving vent to his confusion. A touch against his secondary bond assured him that Obi-Wan was just within the ship, and now alert to the other presence out here with them.

Qui-Gon shook his head but he didn't want to stay in the pounding rain. "Inside?!" He offered, as they reached the ramp, and her small mouth smiled. 

"Indeed," she agreed, and went up, stopping to shake the rain from her body near the top of the ramp, having ensured she made room for them. Anakin brought the ramp up behind them, as Obi-Wan made his way to them as well. 

The sound of the rain stopped as the ramp sealed, and in the quiet, Qui-Gon slowly realized that he could feel a presence in the Force unlike anything he had ever touched, even in Master Yoda's presence. 

"Greetings, younglings," she said, and now he realized that her face and body were heavily wrinkled, lined with age, unlike any he had seen. "My name is Kina Ha. You three have been causing quite the turmoil in the Force, these last two days. 

"Has my Vision finally come to pass?" 

Anakin exchanged his incredulous look with Obi-Wan, before they both focused on her. As was common with most of their joint missions, and because he was tired of sitting in the ship, Obi-Wan answered that.

"If your Vision has anything to do with the Sith trying to destroy the peace of the Republic, quite possibly, Elder One," Obi-Wan said respectfully. "I am Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is Master Qui-Gon Jinn. And his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker," he introduced.

Anakin caught the very brief shift from 'our' to 'his', only because he was used to listening for it, and the immediate brush along that secondary bond of reassurance.

Kina Ha nodded, breathing out a long, soft sigh. "I must be getting old. I felt no Sith upon my homeworld, and have sensed no taint in these poor souls... but I certainly sensed the three of you. What has happened?" 

Qui-Gon shook his head. "The Sith was new-sworn to them, when he came, and the army they have birthed is not, yet, corrupted, El -- " 

"Oh, Pfah. My name is Kina, and I need no titles, youngling. I simply need to help stop this." 

Anakin carefully hid his grin behind a polite face; he liked her already. Obi-Wan was amused, but also quite adept at hiding it, except in his eyes. Not many people interrupted their Master like that, but at least Qui-Gon was graceful about coping with it.

"Kina, we have been contending against this new rise of the Sith for seven years now," Obi-Wan offered. "They remained hidden for so long, and have brought the Galaxy near to a massive war. Any help you wish to offer would be quite welcome."

"Good," Kina Ha nodded again, and Qui-Gon felt the weight of her gaze fall entirely on him. "You mean to return to the Temple, to do something about what you have found.

"I will go with you. Those poor children deserve better than dying in some Sith-spawned new conflict." 

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, and their Padawan nodded, going to the cockpit to get the cruiser preflighted. "We are grateful," he added to the powerful Force user, bowing deeply, before joining Anakin as copilot, leaving Qui-Gon to guide Kina Ha.

"Would you sit and talk with me, Kina Ha?" Qui-Gon asked. 

"If you will tell me what you have found, I will be glad to," Kina Ha agreed, and went willingly to settle into the small sitting area that was all the ship offered.


End file.
